Amanda Cushman is a culinary educator who has cooked professionally for over thirty years.

She teaches a wide range of cooking classes in CT as well as teaching privately for groups of two to twenty students in their home. Chef Cushmans cooking lessons are held in locations such as; The Upstairs Kitchen, White Gate Farm and Homeworks. Her corporate team building classes have featured clients such as; Hugo Boss, Experian, Exxon Mobile, Google, Yahoo, Fitness Magazine, DirecTV and Toyota.

Her career in food began in Manhattan where she worked with some of the top NYC caterers: Glorious Food, Panhandlers and Martha Stewart Catering. She became the lead chef for Panhandlers Catering where she cooked for parties of twenty to three hundred people.

She then began testing recipes at Ladies Home Journal where she worked for over two years. Her next stint was at Food and Wine Magazine where she learned her skills in recipe development. This led to her contributing to Cooking Light, Self, Fine Cooking and Vegetarian Times. At this time she was also a private chef for the C.E.O. of American Express and the Editor of GQ magazine.

In the early nineties she began teaching at The Institute of Culinary Education formerly known as Peter Kump's New York Cooking School. While in NYC she also taught the professional series at The Natural Gourmet Cooking School and The New School-Culinary Arts Program.

Chef Cushman moved to Miami Beach in the mid nineties where she was featured on Deco Drive for her private hands-on cooking classes. She had the cover story in the food section of the Miami Herald for these classes as well as her private classes being featured as the best new trend in Florida Trend Magazine.

She has developed hundreds of recipes for cookbooks as well as food magazines and web sites. Some of her accounts have been Foodfit.com, Minutemeals.com and the Time/Life Fitness Series. She published her own cookbook in 2008 and it was sold out within the year. It is now on it's second printing and is sold on Amazon.com and independent bookstores throughout the Connecticut area. Amanda moved to Venice, Ca. in 2003 and taught her highly successful technique series for many years at Surfas kitchen and restaurant supply. She also taught privately to many students which included: Neil Patrick Harris, Molly Sims, Anne Archer and Randy Newman.

Chef Cushman recently returned to her home state of Ct. and presently resides in Old Lyme with her husband and two cats. Click here to view Amanda's Connecticut cooking class schedule.